Scottish Executive

Careers Scotland

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in establishing the advisory bodies to Careers Scotland, as set out in Careers Scotland - The Way Forward .

Ms Wendy Alexander: I chaired the first meeting of the shadow Ministerial Joint Supervisory Group on 27 August. We discussed the strategic barriers and opportunities presented by our vision for Careers Scotland, with a view to considering these at our next meeting.

  Additionally, the Enterprise networks have now appointed members to all 22 local advisory boards of Careers Scotland in accordance with guidelines issued by the Executive.

  Full details of the Ministerial Joint Supervisory Group (Bib. number 16775) and local advisory boards’ membership, covering the Scottish Enterprise area (Bib number 16776) and Highlands and Islands (Bib. number 16778) have been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Dental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to develop a dental disease prevention from birth programme since the publication of Towards a Healthier Scotland .

Malcolm Chisholm: The Dental Action Plan, a copy of which is available in the Parliament’s reference centre (Bib. number 16538), was published in August 2000 and has a significant focus on dental disease prevention. The provision of free toothpaste and toothbrushes, underpinned by the allocation of £1 million from the Health Improvement Fund, forms a core element of the programme and is complemented in all NHS Board areas by educational materials.

Finance

Alasdair Morgan (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the (a) Crown Office, (b) Children and Central Government Education, (c) Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, (d) Environment, (e) Health, (f) Justice, (g) Rural Affairs, (h) Scottish Executive Administration, (i) Social Justice, (j) Sport and Culture and (k) Transport level 3 expenditures under Departmental Expenditure Limits for 2000-01.

Angus MacKay: Scottish Executive accounts are presently being audited and will be laid before Parliament by January 2002. I see no value in publishing unaudited data at this level of disaggregation. I will write to the Member for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale in January with the information once the audit is complete and place a copy in the Parliament’s reference centre.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the UK’s response to the European Commission’s Green Paper on the future of the Common Fisheries Policy was co-ordinated by it or by Her Majesty’s Government and where the official or officials who wrote the final draft is or are based.

Rhona Brankin: Parts of the UK response were drafted in London and parts of it were written in Edinburgh. Fisheries ministers in all of the fisheries departments in the UK agreed the final draft, which fully reflects Scottish priorities. It was sent to the Commission in the normal way from the UK Government via the Permanent UK Representation in Brussels.

Health

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-17093 by Susan Deacon on 15 August 2001, what the findings were of the recent review of the sleep apnoea service provided by the Sleep Centre in Edinburgh.

Susan Deacon: I understand that, as a result of the review, decisions have now been made by NHS Lothian and by the other NHS Boards which send patients to the sleep apnoea service in Lothian. As a result, all patients should now be able to receive equipment for the treatment of sleep apnoea, in order of clinical priority.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to develop a national physical activity strategy since the publication of Towards a Healthier Scotland .

Susan Deacon: The Physical Activity Task Force was set up in June 2001 with the remit of producing a strategy for increasing physical activity levels amongst the Scottish population. This group will give a progress report by the end of this year with a draft strategy being planned for the spring of 2002.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what encouragement has been given for employers to apply for Scotland’s Health at Work Award initiative accreditation since the publication of Towards a Healthier Scotland .

Susan Deacon: Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change included a commitment to increase funding for Scotland’s Health at Work scheme to enable more employers to develop health promoting workplaces. Details will be announced shortly.

Homelessness

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the supplementary answer to question S1F-1259 by Henry McLeish on 27 September 2001, whether it will clarify the First Minister’s answer in relation to homelessness, that "the underlying trend is down" and how this underlying trend was measured.

Jackie Baillie: The latest available information on homelessness applications in Scotland up to 31 March 2001 is given in tables 19 and 20 of the most recent edition of Housing Trends in Scotland , published on 27 September 2001. The bulletin is available from the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 16396) and at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00109-00.asp . The following table shows the total number of applications in each of the three years to March 2001. The number of applications in 2000-01 is lower than in each of the previous two years.

  Total homelessness applications 1998-99 to 2000-01

  


Year 
  

All homelessness applications 
  

Percentage change on previous year 
  



1998-99 
  

45,723 
  

+ 6.0% 
  



1999-2000 
  

45,945 
  

+ 0.5% 
  



2000-01 
  

45,172 
  

- 1.7%

Hospitals

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received a response to the letter of 28 February 2001 from its Health Department Directorate of Finance to the acting director of finance at Grampian Primary Care NHS Trust regarding the redevelopment of Chalmers Hospital, Banff, and, if so, what the response was.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive has not yet received a reply to the letter of 28 February.

  The plans for the redevelopment of Chalmers hospital will be included in the NHS Grampian Action Plan, phase 1 of which will be completed by the end of October. The Action Plan will set out how NHS Grampian will fulfil its commitment to deliver high quality, sustainable and accessible services. There are no plans to close Chalmers Hospital.

Housing

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria will be used to determine applications from local authorities for funding under the New Housing Partnerships initiative.

Ms Margaret Curran: Decisions have still to be taken on the criteria for allocating further New Housing Partnership resources in the period 2002-04.

Housing (Scotland) Act 2001

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish details of the additional resources to be made available to local authorities to enable them to implement their new responsibilities under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001, particularly regarding the nature of the funding, the timescale for disbursement and the method of allocation.

Jackie Baillie: We are providing £10 million to help local authorities and registered social landlords implement the new Scottish secure tenancy, £27 million to help local authorities implement the homelessness provisions in the Act, £4.5 million to help local authorities and registered social landlords implement the tenant participation provisions and up to £4.5 million to help local authorities develop local housing strategies. Details of the Social Justice Committee budget, including the proposed expenditure linked to the implementation of the Housing Act, have recently been provided to the Social Justice Committee and are available on the Parliament’s website.

  Funding will be provided as grant aid and linked to the specific purposes for which the funding is being made available. The detailed arrangements for the allocation of this funding are currently under discussion.

Judicial Appointments

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin & Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in establishing a College of Justice which is more "reflective of the diversity of society" as set out in Judicial Appointments: An Inclusive Approach and, in particular, in ensuring that there is an increase in the appointment of women and others from non-traditional backgrounds to senators of the college.

Mr Jim Wallace: In March I announced the Executive’s plans to establish an independent judicial appointments board to advise the First Minister on the appointment of judges of the Court of Session, sheriffs principal and sheriffs. The board’s remit will include an invitation to encourage more applications from female and ethnic minority candidates at all levels. Public advertisements for the chairman and the lay membership of the board are being placed this month and the board should start operations early next year.

Judicial Appointments

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin & Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in increasing the transparency and openness in the process for the appointment of senators to the college of justice.

Mr Jim Wallace: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-18631. The judicial appointments board will be expected to interview all candidates before recommending people to the First Minister. No individual will be appointed unless the board have so recommended.

Judicial Appointments

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin & Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment has been made of pressures on the judicial resources of the supreme courts.

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin & Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment has been made of the need for additional judicial resources as a result of the demands made on the High Court of Justiciary.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Lord President of the Court of Session has responsibility for planning the programme of business for the Supreme Courts. In 1999 he made a case for an increase in the complement of Judges to 32 to cope with pressure of work and ministers made the necessary resources available. The Supreme Courts remain under significant pressure and the position is kept under regular review by ministers.

Justice

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin & Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will show any percentage increase in the number of (a) High Courts indictments, (b) solemn appeals, (c) judge sitting days, (d) judicial time devoted to first instance criminal business and (e) judicial business devoted to criminal appeal work in the year up to 31 August compared with the two previous years.

Mr Jim Wallace: The information requested is included in the following table.

  


 


1999-2000
Actual
Full year 
  

2000-2001
Actual
Full year 
  

01.04.01 to 31.08.01
Actual
To date 
  

01.04.01 to 31.08.01
% change over the same period in 2000 
  

01.04.01 to 31.08.01
% change over the same period in 1999 
  



High Court Indictments 
  

1,478 
  

1,343 
  

666 
  

+7 
  

+14 
  



Solemn Appeals 
  

930 
  

1,038 
  

436 
  

-2 
  

+15 
  



Judge Sitting Days 
  

5,079 
  

5,597 
  

2,144 
  

-3 
  

+12 
  



Judge days – First Instance Crime 
  

2,225 
  

2,802 
  

1,053 
  

-13 
  

+12 
  



Judge days – Criminal Appeal work (including sifting) 
  

810 
  

717 
  

391 
  

+34 
  

+25

Justice

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin & Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment has been made of the effects of new business before the Outer House of the Court of Session on its judicial resources.

Mr Jim Wallace: New Outer House business has stayed fairly constant over the last few years. It is the responsibility of the Lord President to allocate judicial resources in the Court of Session and this takes account of the level of business in the Outer House.

Justice

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin & Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment has been made of the implications of the Scotland Act 1998 and the European Convention on Human Rights for the business and judicial resources of the supreme courts.

Mr Jim Wallace: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-18633 today. In the further representations which the Lord President made to ministers last year, he took account of the impact of the new legislation when requesting an increase in the complement of judges.

Justice

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin & Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment has been made of the implications for the business and judicial resources of the supreme courts of Senators taking up public duties on UK bodies or outwith Scotland.

Mr Jim Wallace: The loss of a judge or judges to public duties elsewhere in the UK or abroad is one of the factors which the Lord President will take into account in planning the supreme court programme. In the case of lengthy absences, additional resources may be provided; recent examples of this being the trial of the Lockerbie bombing suspects and the Ladbroke Grove Rail Disaster Inquiry. The absence of the judges concerned led directly to an increase in the complement from 27 to 32.

Justice

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin & Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what calls were made upon retired judges for sittings of the supreme courts in the year up to 31 August 2001 and the two previous years.

Mr Jim Wallace: Retired judges sat on the following number of days:

  


Calendar Year 1999 
  

299 days 
  



Calendar Year 2000 
  

456 days 
  



01 January 2001 to 31 August 2001 
  

215 days

Justice

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin & Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting period was for (a) a civil appeal, other than those sent for early disposal, and (b) a solemn conviction appeal in the year up to 31 August 2001 and the two previous years.

Mr Jim Wallace: Civil Appeal 
  



1999-2000 
  

31 term weeks 
  



2000-01 
  

33 term weeks 
  



01.04.2001 to 31.08.2001 
  

32 term weeks 
  



  


Solemn Conviction 
  



1999-2000 
  

18 term weeks 
  



2000-01 
  

20 term weeks 
  



01.04.2001 to 31.08.2001 
  

22 term weeks 
  



  Term weeks do not include periods when the court is not in session.

Justice

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin & Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment has been made of the implications for the business and judicial resources of the supreme courts of the settlement rate of cases in the Outer House of the Court of Session.

Mr Jim Wallace: In programming the work of the Outer House, the court proceeds on the assumption that the settlement rate will run at around 95 per cent. This figure is monitored from time to time and has been fairly constant in recent years.

Justice

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin & Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting period in term weeks was for (a) four-day proofs and (b) proofs with an estimated duration of 10 days or more in the Outer House of the Court of Session in the year up to 31 August 2001 and the two previous years.

Mr Jim Wallace: Four-days proofs

  


1999-2000 
  

18 term weeks 
  



2000-01 
  

20 term weeks 
  



01.04.2001 to 31.08.2001 
  

21 term weeks 
  



  Information of the average waiting periods for proofs of 10 days or more is not held centrally.

  Proofs of this duration are fixed on an individual basis taking account of a range of factors. These include the availability of counsel, the urgency of the case and the court programme.

Justice

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin & Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average availability of Outer House judges per term week was for (a) four-day proofs and (b) business in the Outer House of the Court of Session in the year up to 31 August 2001 and the two previous years.

Mr Jim Wallace: The information sought is not readily available. The average number of judges sitting each week in the Outer House during term is as follows:

  


1999-2000 
  

8 
  



2000-01 
  

8 
  



01.04.2001 to 31.08.2001 
  

9

Justice

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin & Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil proofs could not proceed for want of a judge per term week in the Outer House of the Court of Session in the year up to 31 August 2001 and the two previous years.

Mr Jim Wallace: The information sought is not readily available in term weeks, and the collated statistics for 1999-2000 do not identify civil proofs, but show all civil hearings unallocated. The following table shows (a) for 1999-2000 all civil hearings which did not settle and could not proceed owing to lack of judicial time and (b) for 2000-01 all civil proofs which did not settle and which could not proceed owing to the lack of judicial time.

  

 

1999-2000
(all Outer House hearings unallocated) 
  

2000-01
(civil proofs unallocated) 
  



April 
  

0 
  

0 
  



May 
  

0 
  

0 
  



June 
  

0 
  

3 
  



July 
  

0 
  

0 
  



August 
  

0 
  

0 
  



September 
  

2 
  

3 
  



October 
  

2 
  

2 
  



November 
  

10 
  

0 
  



December 
  

1 
  

3 
  



January 
  

0 
  

0 
  



February 
  

0 
  

0 
  



March 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Total 
  

15 (all types) 
  

11 (proofs) 
  



  No civil proofs have fallen for want of available judicial time during the period 01.04.2001 and 31.08.2001

Prescription Charges

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the costs of the administration of prescription charges were in 2000-01 and what they are estimated to be in 2001-02.

Susan Deacon: This information is not available.

Race Relations

Kate MacLean (Dundee West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will receive the report of the Race Equality Advisory Forum.

Jackie Baillie: The forum presented its response to ministers today.

Schools

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs has any plans to visit St Mary’s Episcopal Primary School to meet parents and teachers before January 2002.

Mr Jack McConnell: I have no plans to do so. Stirling Council is best placed to discuss the future arrangements for this school.

Scottish Executive Correspondence

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when its Environment and Rural Affairs Department (SEERAD) will reply to the letter of 15 August 2001 from my constituent Mr Andrew S. Nobel from Newtonmore seeking the views and support of SEERAD to "Farms Mart", a new online farming community business website.

Ross Finnie: I regret that this letter does not appear to have been received by the department. If Mr Nobel could re-send his letter to my office I will ensure that it is dealt with as a matter of urgency.

Scottish Executive Publications

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it cost to launch, publish and distribute the digital inclusion strategy Digital Inclusion: Connecting Scotland’s People .

Ms Wendy Alexander: The cost of launching, publishing, and distributing the document Digital Inclusion: Connecting Scotland’s People was £4,640.88.

Smoking

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of (a) males and (b) females smoked in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Susan Deacon: The table shows the percentage of adults aged between 16-64 years who were regular cigarette smokers in 1995 and 1998. These data are from the Scottish Health Survey, which is carried out periodically and is used as the source for monitoring progress against the smoking reduction target set in Towards a Healthier Scotland. The next Scottish Health Survey is scheduled for 2002 and should be published in 2004.

  


Year 
  

Males 
  

Females 
  

Total 
  



1995 
  

34% 
  

36% 
  

35% 
  



1998 
  

36% 
  

33% 
  

34%

Smoking

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of (a) male and (b) female schoolchildren smoked in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Susan Deacon: The table shows the percentage of 12- to 15-year-olds who were regular smokers.

  


Year 
  

Males 
  

Females 
  

Total 
  



1992 
  

10% 
  

13% 
  

11% 
  



1994 
  

11% 
  

13% 
  

12% 
  



1996 
  

14% 
  

14% 
  

14% 
  



1998 
  

11% 
  

13% 
  

12% 
  



2000 
  

8% 
  

13% 
  

10%

Smoking

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what services in the NHS have been provided to help smokers quit smoking and to secure improved facilities in pubs and restaurants for non-smokers since the publication of Towards a Healthier Scotland .

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive has provided £8 million over three years for smoking cessation and health education and prevention activities. This supports a range of initiatives including cessation services. Since April 2001 a full range of NRT products has been available on prescription. Smoking cessation was identified as a priority for investment from the £26 million Health Improvement Fund, and NHS Boards and Health Education Board Scotland (HEBS) have targeted resources in order to increase smoking cessation and prevention activities. HEBS are currently working on a smoking cessation resource pack for health professionals and development of health education and smoking cessation services for school-age children.

  The Scottish Voluntary Charter on Smoking in Public Places, which aims to promote good practice and extend consumer choice to have non-smoking areas in public places such as pubs and restaurants, was introduced in May 2000. Key players from the Scottish licensed and hospitality industry have signed up to the charter, and some thirteen hundred businesses have adopted the charter in its first year.

Smoking

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to secure tougher enforcement of the law against sales of tobacco to children since the publication of Towards a Healthier Scotland .

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive is working closely with COSLA, and the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland to improvement enforcement of the Children and Young Person (Protection from Tobacco) Act 1991. An enforcement protocol, for use by local authorities in carrying out their statutory responsibilities, will be finalised in light of the Lord Advocate’s review of prosecution policy in relation to test purchasing of age restricted goods. That review is now complete and an announcement is expected shortly.

Speech Therapy

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many personnel in the education sector are qualified to undertake (a) speech therapy, (b) child psychological assessment and (c) assessment of special needs using the Gaelic language.

Nicol Stephen: The information requested is not held centrally.

  In addition we are supporting pilot youth card schemes, in which proof of age is an integral part, in conjunction with COSLA, the Society of Chief Trading Standards Officers in Scotland and Young Scot.

Waste Management

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18169 by Ross Finnie on 28 September 2001, what the timetable is for the incorporation of the Safe Sludge Matrix into the revised Sludge (Used in Agriculture) Regulations 1989.

Ross Finnie: It is planned to incorporate the matrix into revised regulations in early 2002.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Holyrood Project

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer whether he will give a detailed breakdown of the cost of the tendering process for the contract won by Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd to carry out cladding work on the MSPs’ block in the new Parliament building.

Sir David Steel: The relevant costs in this exercise are primarily those associated with staff and consultants’ time. I understand from the convener of the Holyrood Progress Group, that it is not possible to quantify these as information is not recorded in this manner.

Holyrood Project

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer whether he will detail those factors not covered by commercial confidentiality which led to the contract being awarded to Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd to carry out cladding work on the MSPs’ block in the new Parliament building.

Sir David Steel: Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd were appointed following normal competitive tender procedures and, I understand from the convener of the Holyrood Progress Group that, of the tender bids received, theirs was the only bid which complied with the tender documentation.

Holyrood Project

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer whether any members of the Holyrood Progress Group advised against awarding the contract to carry out cladding work on the MSPs’ block in the new Parliament building to Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd and, if so, who they were.

Sir David Steel: Notwithstanding that the Holyrood Progress Group have no formal role in the trade package appointment process, no concerns were expressed on the tender recommendation made by the construction manager, endorsed by the design team and approved by the Holyrood Project Team.

Holyrood Project

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer whether he will detail the process of monitoring the contract to carry out cladding work on the MSPs’ block in the new Parliament building after the award to Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd and on what date the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body first became aware of any concerns in the project management team about Flour City’s performance.

Sir David Steel: Bovis Lend Lease (Scotland) Limited, as construction managers for the project, are responsible for managing and monitoring all works packages undertaken on the project. The SPCB first became aware of problems with the MSP block cladding contract at their regular meeting with the Holyrood Progress Group on 28 August 2001.

Holyrood Project

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer whether the previous project director of the Holyrood building project, Alan Ezzi, raised any concerns about the award of the contract to carry out cladding work on the MSP block in the new Parliament building to Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd.

Sir David Steel: I refer Ms MacDonald to my answer to question S1W-18866 today and confirm that, according to the convener of the Holyrood Progress Group, there is no record of any individuals within the project management raising any concerns about the appointment of Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd.

Holyrood Project

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer how many personnel from Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd parent company were recruited from overseas to work on the Holyrood building project.

Sir David Steel: The key senior personnel employed on site by Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd, a British company, were either Scottish or English. To the best of the Holyrood Project Team’s knowledge, no personnel were recruited from overseas to work on site, but this is solely a matter for the contractor concerned.

Holyrood Project

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer whether timber sourced from North America and finished in Thailand formed part of the procurement undertaken by Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd for cladding materials to be used in the MSPs’ block in the new Parliament building.

Sir David Steel: Yes.

Holyrood Project

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer what percentage of the timber for use in the new Parliament building has been sourced in Scotland.

Sir David Steel: This information is not yet available as much of the timber to be used within works packages for the project has still to be procured. To date, some 40m 3 of high quality, Scottish oak has been procured directly by the Parliament for use on the project but, under EC public procurement rules, materials cannot be specified as "Scottish" within the trade package documentation. Scottish suppliers are, of course, free to bid to supply any materials specified within Trade Packages.

Holyrood Project

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer which suppliers of timber for use in the new parliament building have been paid to date.

Sir David Steel: The following timber suppliers have been paid for supplying Scottish oak to the Holyrood Project:

  Birse Community Trust, Banchory.

  Cookson Tree Services, Forteviot, Perthshire.

  Cromartie Timber, Strathpeffer.

  Dundee City Council, Camperdown Park, Dundee.

  Dynamic Woods, Oakley, Dunfermline.

  Gilmour & Aitken, Alexandria.

  Lothian Trees and Timber, Cousland, Dalkeith.

  Mansfield Estates, Scone Palace, Perth.

  Martin Swan, Dawyck, Stobo.

  McConnel Wood Products, Penpont, Dumfriesshire.

  Rosehill Timber, Laurencekirk.

  T G Norman (Timber), Longtown, Carlisle.

  Woodschool, Ancrum, Jedburgh.

  Payments to sub-contractors for materials supplied to trade packages are the responsibility of the relevant appointed Trade Package contractor.

Holyrood Project

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer whether Kemnay Quarries have been paid for the granite supplied by them for use in the new Parliament building.

Sir David Steel: Payments from trade contractors, appointed by the SPCB, to their sub-contractors are normally a matter for the contractors concerned but, where difficulties arise, one of our principal concerns is to protect the sub-contractor and supply of materials. However, I understand from the Convener of the Holyrood Progress Group that no payment has yet been made to Kemnay Quarries. The failure of Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd to make payments in this respect was among the deciding factors in the decision to issue a notice of termination of contract on 26 September 2001.

Holyrood Project

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer how much Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd have been paid to date for their services to Holyrood project.

Sir David Steel: Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd were paid £854,000 (excl. VAT) for work undertaken on design and specialist cladding services, which is now the property of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body.